- UK funky, garage, gqom and house, all under one roof from a veteran London duo.
- Reviewing their 2021 EP on Livity Sound, RA's Henry Ivry said that the duo—along with collaborator DJ Polo—represented a "micro-history of jungle, garage, dubstep and, of course, their bread-and-butter, UK funky." Now, you might not be familiar with them, but these two London producers, LR Groove and Razzler Man, have been doing their thing in the UK capital for nearly two decades, both together and apart. They reunited in 2018, inspired by the changing and cyclical tastes of UK dance music fans and, perhaps most importantly, the international rise of South African dance music and its interplay with other genres around the world.
The duo have now released two records for Livity Sound, which is among the biggest badges of honour you can get in this sector of electronic music. Effortlessly combining UK funky, dubstep and snatches of gqom and amapiano, the duo's music feels organically adventurous, but hardly trendy—in fact, the space and reverb of their beats still sounds a lot like the music they were associated back in the '00s, in the best way. Their RA Podcast is a journey into the musical borderlines they operate, made up mostly of their group tracks and solo, along with cuts from like-minded artists such as Scratcha DVA, KG and Karizma. It's a whole lot of UK and a little bit South Africa, the sound of Black British dance music in flux and perpetual evolution.
What are you grateful for these days?
We are grateful that our music is being played all over the world and to have continuous support from people buying our music.
How and where was the mix recorded?
The mix was recorded at a pirate studio halfway between us, because we live on opposite sides of London.
And can you tell us the idea behind it?
The idea behind the mix was to showcase Tribal Brothers songs by paying homage to a variety of South African and UK producers who we admire and have influenced us as musicians for many years.
How have you seen the London dance music scene change over the years, and what did it feel like when you reunited in 2018?
The London dance scene changes very quickly with new subgenres constantly branching off and growing globally. A perfect example is garage, which still has a HUGE following today. Genres like grime could be seen as a darker element of garage, and crowds love how it has evolved. Dubstep is another example which fuses grimy drum beats with drum & bass basslines. In a set, all three genres can easily work together. To reunite in 2018 was quite easy because we shared the same interests and love for music.
What inspired you to reunite in the first place?
We wanted to combine all of the musical elements within both of our stylez and also to start our own label. We wanted no boundaries and the freedom to create anything we wanted.
What do the two of you bring to the table together that you couldn't do alone?
LR Groove's basslines and Razzler Man's harmonic melodies. Since working together for a few years we have both learnt each other's specialities.
What's one political or social cause you want the world to pay more attention to?
We are very passionate about equality, we believe everyone should treated fairly but we are still witnessing a lot of discrimination. We have seen many events and festivals where there is major lack of diversity. You might see one or two Black artists on an entire festival lineup, which is a constant reminder that ethnic groups are not being given as equal an opportunity as others. We would love to see a change to this as it's gone on for years and years.
What are you looking forward to in the near future?
We are looking forward to releasing more music, playing in different countries, collaborations and putting on some of our own events.
TracklistLR Groove - As One
Caiiro - 911
India Shaw - Be Mine (Tribal Brothers Remix)
Hagan - Sise Tweni feat. Amos
TheologyHD - Huruuu
Felo Le Tee - Kok Malome feat. Gulval & Visca
LR Groove - One Life
Razzler Man - My Life Matters feat. Troublesome
Razzler Man - PVO
LR Groove - Stack
Masters At Work - To Be In Love feat. India (LR Groove Mix)
TheologyHD - Ngoxolo
Tribal Brothers & DJ Polo - Untitled
Zan Ten & DJY Freash - Monster
LR Groove - War Cry feat. Toya Delazy
Free Movement feat. XL Mad - (Curtisss Remix)
Tribal Brothers - Genesis
LR Groove - Rider
Razzler Man - Ego
Razzler Man - Rambo
Mad One - Saturday Love
Razzler Man - Yeah Yeah
Cuebur - No Doubt feat. Mariska Guzman
Solan lo - Gqom Will Never Die
Mad One - Lockdown
Scratchclart & Razzler Man - Razzclart VIP
KG - Afrique
Tribal Brothers - Marching (Wondergirl - AYAYA Edit)
Hard House Banton - Sirens (LR Groove Remix)
Razzler Man & Growzie Presents - ER
Tribal Brothers - Formation
LR Groove - Not Having It
Karizma - Twist It (Razzler Man Remix)
DJ Naughty - QuickTime (LR Groove Remix)
Hagan - Ghana Step VIP
Tribal Brothers - Tribal Drums
Lil Silva - Seasons (Razzler Man Remix)
Scratchclart - Gun Walk
LR Groove - Nuclear feat. Troublesome